"I mean, I gotta be. I gotta be. I probably won't get it, but whatever."
That was Steph Curry's recent response when asked whether he should be this year's MVP on a recent episode of the Rex Champan Show.
When the Golden State Warriors met with the Denver Nuggets, it pitted Curry against the man seemingly in the box seat to take out the award, Nikola Jokic.
What followed was the latest Curry Clinic, even if it did take a little while to get going. Curry dropped 25 of his 32 points in the second half, as the Warriors rolled to a comfortable 118-97 win.
Steph's 25-point 2nd half lifts @warriors! pic.twitter.com/I8gq7FsuMm
— NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2021
On the other hand, Jokic would put up modest numbers by his own standards, finishing with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists. It was Denver's first loss since losing Jamal Murray to a torn ACL for the season.
Adding to the performance was the introduction of fans at Chase Center, with the arena now open for a limited number of people. Despite being small in number, head coach Steve Kerr could feel atmosphere in the building.
"I want to thank our fans. It's such a great energy and a reminder of what we've missed," Kerr said. "I know there were only I guess probably 1000, but it felt like a lot more."
Remarkably, it was the first win for Curry in front of Golden State fans at Chase Center, after missing the bulk of the regular season in 2019-20.
The night wasn't totally without drama for the former MVP, with a lingering ankle/foot issue appearing to bother him at times.
"I had a little tape issue at first. Something just didn't feel right," Curry said. "I came back out and tried to get back in the flow of the game but stuff happens. Hopefully it'll be good by Sunday. It's not as prominent as the one in Boston and that responsed well so hopefully this will be the same."
The game marked the beginning of another 30-point streak, with his run of eleven straight snapped last outing against Washington. The 33-year-old is now leading the league in scoring with an average of 31.2 points per game, which balloons to 38.4 over his last 12 outings.
🗣️🗣️🗣️ pic.twitter.com/LkvJTN16CZ
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 24, 2021
While Curry was doing the scoring, his old running mate Draymond Green was doing the dishing, registering a classic Draymond line with two points, 12 rebounds and 19 assists.
"Definitely can find that zone and feel like you can make any pass. Some of those crazy a** passes you see me make, it's like a heatcheck," Green said of the career-high tying 19 assists.
The Warriors have now improved to .500 on the season at 30-30, 3.5 games clear of the New Orleans Pelicans. If the season were to end today, the Warriors would face the San Antonio Spurs in the '9-10' game with an opportunity to play off for the eighth seed in the conference.
Curry's MVP hopes still feel like a long shot, but reaching the postseason after a one year hiatus would be a nice consolation prize for the superstar guard. And let's face it, who would want to face Curry in this type of form in a one-off game to keep your season alive?
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